Hero of the Hardwood
by Hugh-Jainus
Summary: Modern Basketball AU. Izuku was fine being a nobody. He got by and had little to really stress over. But when he has the opportunity to rekindle his dreams of playing basketball, he finds his entire adolescent identity being turned upside down. How will Izuku's lackluster teenage life change as he steps back onto the court on his way to going pro? Rated M for sexual/mature content


**A/N: Hello all you fun people and welcome to 'Hero of the Hardwood'! As a self-proclaimed super fan of both BNHA and basketball, I'd say this fic was a match made in heaven for me. So to be perfectly clear and try and clear up as many potential questions as possible right off the bat, a preface is probably in order.**

 **So first things first, this fic takes place in a modern world basically like our own, so no quirks, heroes, villains or things like that. Many of the pro heroes from the canon are pro basketball players in this world, and UA is a normal high school in Japan. The pieces will start to fall into place as the story progresses so there's no need to worry about that.**

 **Secondly, the story will primarily be told from Izuku's POV. There may be times where the POV can change to other characters for certain scenes, but for the most part, we will see through our favourite little cinnamon roll's eyes.**

 **Since the fic is mostly revolving around basketball, it's a given that there is gonna be quite a bit of vocabulary related to it, and to make things nice and good to follow, those words will be underlined and italicized, and I'll put a glossary at the end of each chapter and on a separate story file that will be available to see on my profile eventually. Also, since it is a quirkless AU, many of the characters are going to be called by their actual names as opposed to their hero names, just a heads up.**

 **Other than that...Enjoy the read and let me know what you think!**

"Speech"

' _Quote'_

" _ **Announcer"**_

* * *

 _ **"It is truly coming down to the wire here in downtown Yokohama, folks! With 16.2 seconds left in the 4**_ _ **th**_ _**quarter, The Yokohama Heat look to save their season and their hopes at a championship against the Tokyo Patriots if they can maintain their 1-point lead. Todoroki 'Endeavour' Enji has been excellent as usual for the Heat, scoring 34 points to go along with 12 rebounds. However, like the rest of this series, his biggest opposition, Yagi 'All Might' Toshinori has been even more stellar. Yagi has 45 points tonight and expect the ball to go to him once more for this final possession that could potentially win him his 10**_ _ **th**_ _**and final championship in what has been an absolutely legendary career."**_

" _ **The ball is now being**_ _ **inbounded**_ _**into play. This is it, folks. Yagi dribbles the ball up the court, the clock is winding down…He calls for**_ _ **isolation,**_ _**and as everyone clears out to give him space, it looks like Todoroki will be the one up to the task to defend him. Can he stop All Might and save his hopes of winning a title, or will Yagi's track record hold true and he will win it all once more?"**_

" _ **Yagi sizes up his opponent as the clock winds down. The arena is dead silent as every single person in the crowd waits for the outcome of this duel between giants with bated breath. All that can be heard is the steady bounce of the ball on the hardwood and the faint squeaking of sneakers on the court. Todoroki is giving Yagi absolutely no breathing room, his fiery intensity on full display as he does his best to prevent the world's top player from creating any sort of space for a clean look. Yagi takes the ball over to his favourite spot,**_ _ **posting up**_ _**at the left**_ _ **elbow**_ _**with 4 seconds remaining! The crowd counts down with the clock as this wild game ends!"**_

" _ **3!"**_

" _ **Yagi shimmies right! He shimmies left!"**_

" _ **2!"**_

" _ **He pivots on his right foot and leaps back for a**_ _ **fadeaway**_ _**jump-shot! Todoroki is a fraction of a second late but still manages to put an arm up in what can only be described as stellar defense as Yagi releases the ball from his hands!"**_

" _ **1!"**_

" _ **The trajectory looks good! Everyone has stopped frozen as the biggest shot of the year makes it way towards the basket!**_

 _ ***Swish***_

 _ ***BUZZZZZZZ***_

" _ **IT'S GOOD! ALL MIGHT NAILS THE GAME-WINNING SHOT AS TIME EXPIRES AND THE HEAT'S DREAMS ARE CRUSHED. YAGI HAS DONE WHAT HE ALWAYS HAS DONE BEST, BIG TIME PLAYERS MAKE BIG TIME PLAYS! WHAT A WAY TO FINISH OFF THE MOST INCREDIBLE OF CAREERS! I GUARANTEE THAT EVERYONE WATCHING THIS GAME WILL REMEMBER THIS MOMENT FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES!"**_

" _ **Yagi said it before the game, 'Anything is possible if you have the drive and the passion for it.'. Take those words to heart kids, you've seen it here tonight. Dreams are achievable to those who want them badly enough. Legends are not born, they're forged. And as the curtain begins to fall on the legendary career of the one and only All Might, the road is paved for the journeys of great athletes for generations to come. Here's hoping we'll see you on this stage one day too…"**_

* * *

*Beep Beep Beep Beep*

"Ughhhhh I gotta get a new alarm clock." I groan as I sit up in my bed, rubbing the grogginess out of my eyes as they adjust to the light peering in through my window. I'm a little more tired than usual for some reason. I slept pretty early last night after I finished up Yamada-sensei's grammar assignment, so that couldn't have been the reason. I still don't understand why he insists on his students calling him Present-Mic, which as far as I know is his 'stage name'...whatever that means...But I digress.

Thinking about it, that dream was probably the reason why I feel like I barely got any sleep. I honestly can't remember the last time I thought about that game, it was like 10 years ago, after all. I remember being 6 years old, watching that game with my mom and dad...It was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. I'd been in love with basketball for as long as I could remember, and All Might was my favourite player...He was pretty much everyone's favourite player, to be honest. That game went down in history as one of the greatest moments in all of sports, and it's mentioned a lot as the reason for a lot of athletes found their callings and were able to go pro.

I remember growing up that I wanted nothing more than to become a pro basketball player just like All Might. I trained and trained nonstop for years, I convinced my mom to sign me up for countless basketball camps, got all the gear, watched almost every game religiously to try and see as many approaches to it as possible. My mind was absolutely set on being the best player I could be on my way to eventually go pro and becoming the next All Might. Keyword, _was_.

Things change, circumstances change, and you know...People change I guess. My dad was very into the idea of me becoming a pro basketball player, he played in college and actually introduced it to me when I was a kid. But...after he died when I was 13, mom took it really hard, like _really_ hard. Anything even remotely related to the idea of him used to bring her to the point of tears...It broke my heart to see her like that, especially after having nothing but memories of her as happy as could be up until my dad's passing. She's a lot better now, pretty much back to normal for the most part. I think I stopped playing basketball a few weeks after dad died, I could tell how much it reminded her of him and couldn't live with myself to be part of the reason she was sad. So I gave it up, for her was 3 years ago, so I'm 16 now. But I still don't dare bring it up and I only watch it when she's not around. Is there a teeny tiny part of me that still thinks about whether or not I could've gotten into a top university on a basketball scholarship and maybe gone pro eventually? Of course. It was such a big part of my life that I can't help but miss it a little. But for my mom's sake, I'd give it up again if I could. It's not like I'm not satisfied with the way things are going right now anyway. I have some great friends, my grades are pretty damn good if I do say so myself, and I've found plenty of hobbies to replace the void that basketball left. Comics, video games, and most notably music consume most of my non-schoolwork time.

"Izuku! Are you up yet? Breakfast is ready!"

Oh yeah, I forgot that, didn't I? My name is Midoriya Izuku, I'm a second year at UA High. I play the flute in my school's band, I like katsudon and I'm currently behind schedule this morning. "Coming, mom!"

After taking a shower and changing into my school uniform, I grab my bag and run down the stairs for breakfast. My mom is down there waiting for me, arms crossed with a wooden spoon in her hand, a sickly sweet smile on her face. "Izuku, did you stay up late again last night? You remember what mom told you about getting enough rest?"

I audibly gulped as her grip on the death weapon increased exponentially. "N-no mom I went to bed pretty early last night, I guess I had kind of an off dream that kept me from sleeping properly, that's all." Please believe me, please believe me. I really do not feel like starting my morning off with a giant lump on the top of my head.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that honey, would you like to talk about it?" her face immediately reverted back to the one of motherly concern that I've seen too many times to count. I internally let out the biggest sigh of relief, thank Christ she bought it.

"Nah, that's okay mom. I'm sure it'll be fine and I'll forget all about it by tomorrow." I wrap my arms around her and plant a kiss on her forehead, "Don't worry mom, everything is fine. Promise."

I can feel her shoulders relax a little bit as she hugs me back, "Okay, if you say so Izuku. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast, or you're going to be late for school. Ochako-chan should be here soon and I raised you better than to keep multiple ladies waiting in the same day, young man."

I roll my eyes as I dig into my scrambled eggs. Man, mom's cooking always manages to hit the spot. Even something as simple as a plate of scrambled eggs she makes taste like a five-star gourmet meal. I swallow my mouthful, mom would've definitely smacked me if I spoke with food in my mouth again, "Come on, mom. Occhan is always the one who's late, who are you kidding? I would be surprised if she even got out of bed yet. Even if she did, I—"

A loud knock at the front door interrupts me, and I don't even have to turn around to know who it is. It still amazes me to this day that she can have such uncanny timing at times for someone who is almost always late to everything. "Izu-kun, good morning~!" My mom goes to answer the door and I can practically feel the smiles on both of their faces.

"Good morning, Inko-san! I see Izu-kun's finally gotten his lazy butt out of bed, huh?" I have no idea where the hell she gets the energy to be so cheerful and bubbly all the time, but I guess she wouldn't be her without it.

As she and my mom finish exchanging morning pleasantries, I hear her skipping, yes you heard me I said skipping, in my direction and before I know it, she's sitting across from me. "Mornin' Occhan" I lazily wave right before downing my glass of orange juice. The pout she puts on when she's slightly annoyed never fails to make me laugh, but unfortunately, that's almost always followed up by her kicking me in the shin.

*WHAM*

"Ow ow ow ow." Occhan has definitely become more precise in her strikes over the years. Occhan, AKA Uraraka Ochako, is my best friend in the world and we've been close since kindergarten. She's my next-door neighbour and she practically lives over here because her parents are usually busy with work. We don't mind though, my mom loves her and has seen her as a daughter for years and why would I complain about having her around all the time? You know, other than my throbbing shin, that is.

"Don't you 'Mornin' Occhan' me, mister! How come you didn't text me last night?" It really is hard to take her seriously sometimes when she acts like this. Cheeks puffed out, legs kicking back and forth like a little kid, I'm not sure if I should be worried about being scolded or give her a cookie or something.

"I was doing the grammar assignment and wanted to sleep early. From my obvious state of absolutely boundless energy, you can see that it worked." I could tell she was gonna yell at me for being a sarcastic grouch, but from the way her eyes widened and her mouth hung open just a bit, I knew exactly what she was thinking. "You forgot to do the assignment, didn't you?" An exasperated groan from her pretty much answers it loud and clear. Would you be shocked if I told you that this was a semi-regular occurrence? After so many years with her, I'm pretty much prepared to deal with it, though. "Come on, you can copy my answers on the train. Let's go."

"Yay! Izu-kun you're the best! Love you~" I all but have to pry her off of me after that. I still have no idea how such a petite girl can give such a bear hug. I know what you're thinking...cute girl next door, childhood friend, it just screams teenage love story, right? Right? Wrong! I've heard it more times than I could count, that Occhan and I would make a great couple and that we should get together already and this and that. We're best friends, that's all, end of story. We've been friends forever, nothing is going to change that. A girl as great and pretty and nice and wonderful as her wouldn't wanna be with a guy like me anyway, so it doesn't really matter how I feel...But...You know what, shut up...

* * *

The train ride to UA is as busy as usual, not too surprising considering the fact that the majority of the population is on their way to school or work. Thankfully, I managed to snag Occhan and myself a pair of seats before everything got too crowded.

"Hey, Izu-kun...Have you thought about what you're gonna do after high school?" Occhan didn't even look up from the answers she was copying, but I could tell from her tone that it was a legitimate question as opposed to just random small talk.

"Where's this coming from? It's not like you to be asking responsible questions like that. Who are you and what have you done with my Occhan?" I immediately regret making fun of her when her elbow finds home in the side of my gut.

"Baka, I'm serious! We have less than 2 years left of high school before we are thrown into the real world! You don't have any ideas at all about what you're gonna do? You have good enough grades to get into most universities, but what do you want to do?"

In all fairness, it was a legitimate question. We were already a couple of months into second year, and most people would've already begun to think about what they were going to do once they graduated. There were basically two main options for most people to choose between:

First, was to simply find a job after graduation. Not all the jobs would have the greatest pays or be the most extravagant, but money's money. And for people who can't really afford to pay for university, a full-time job straight out of high school is a pretty good plan.

The other option was to go to university and study in order to find a career of some sort. Anyone who wanted to become like a doctor or a lawyer or something had to go through university first, though you'd have to have really good marks for any of those. My marks were good enough for some mid- to high- level job if I chose to go to university, but I was still unsure about exactly what I wanted to do. And it isn't cheap either. I'd definitely need to get some kind of academic scholarship...athletic scholarships were out of the question for obvious reasons.

I realize that I hadn't answered Occhan and she has been staring at me impatiently for who knows how long, "Ehhhhh, I don't know. Like you said, my grades are pretty good, so getting into university to be some kinda mid-class worker or something wouldn't be all that hard. Pay would be decent, hours wouldn't be that long, so I guess that works…"

"C'mon Izu-kun you sound so apathetic right now! Are you really gonna be happy wit' that kinda life, where everything is just so….meh?" She pumps her fist in the air, a telltale sign she is hyped up and is trying to hype me up, "Don't you wanna find something you love to do? Find a passion that makes you excited to wake up and go to every day?" I'll admit, seeing her like this always lifts my spirit, she's really cute when she gets like this...cuter than usual. "You have been really getting into band, right? Ishiyama-Sensei said that you were going to have 3 solos this year! What if you went to a music academy and joined like a super awesome orchestra after that? Or what if you put all those mangas you drew to use and started your own best-selling series? C'mon, you gotta do something more exciting than just, a 'mid-class worker', you boring butt!"

"Eh, I don't know...I like all that stuff, but I'm not sure I like them enough to commit my whole adulthood to do them. There's nothing I like that much, to be honest…"

Occhan turned to me, a bit more subdued, and I know what's coming. "What about basketba—" I put a finger over her lips to stop her from finishing that sentence.

"You know exactly how I feel about that, Occhan. It's not happening, I can't do that to mom, she just got better a little while ago. What kind of terrible son would I be if I put her through that kind of emotional turmoil again?"

Occhan pulled my hand away from her face and gave me a somewhat determined look, "But, Izu-kun you and me both know that you still love basketball! You have been dying to play again for years, and you're only hurting yourself by staying away from it! Inko-san has gotten a lot better since then, and don'tcha think it couldn't hurt to at least talk to her about playing again? What if she chooses to support you and your dreams, and you are just wasting a chance to live it because you are trying to stop problems that aren't even there anymore?"

I hate to admit it, but a part of me absolutely agrees with her. What if mom really is fine with it and if I start playing again, it'd be no problem? I don't know...She is the type to put me first always, and if I came to her and told her I wanted to play again if she wasn't okay with it...She definitely wouldn't let me know about it and would hide her true feelings so that I could be happy. I...I can't live like that, knowing that I'm causing my own mother pain just so that I could be happy...No way. "Occhan, we aren't talking about this anymore. It's...It's better this way. I'll find something else I like eventually, don't worry about me, okay?"

Occhan is honestly too stubborn for her own good sometimes, but she knows when it's the best idea to let things go, if only for a little while. She pats my head, running her hands through my curly green hair, something we've done to comfort each other since we were kids, and I can't help but relax into the ministrations. "Okay, if you say so, Izu-kun...Whatever you decide, I'll support you and you know damn well I'm gonna make sure you don't get too lazy to be super successful. A future hotshot big-time architect can't have a lazy bum as her best friend, now can she?" She shoots me a teasing smirk that leads to giggling fits from both of us.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Honestly, I'm okay with how things are. Mom, Occhan and my other friends are great. I'm gonna be set up for a pretty good job no matter what, so there really isn't much to worry about down the road. All I know is that I'm definitely not going to be playing basketball anytime soon.

* * *

"Midoriya, I want to have a word with you."

Fuck. Aizawa-Sensei only ever 'wants to have a word' with someone after class when they've done something seriously stupid. As far as I know, I haven't done anything to warrant a tongue-lashing from the infamously grouchy homeroom teacher, _The_ Aizawa Shota, but knowing him, there could very well be something I haven't even thought of. Homeroom went just fine, though...Me and Occhan made it on time, said hi to the rest of our little friend group, and the period went by without any trouble.

I guess there is really no getting out of this, and if I actually am in trouble, it can't be that bad, right? I sure hope not...it's too early in the morning to get verbally abused. "Sure. What's up, Sensei?"

Aizawa Sensei has gotta have some kind of world record for how good his poker-face is. I literally have no idea what the hell he is ever thinking, and it doesn't help that when he does voice his thoughts, he sounds about as passionate as a pile of rocks. I'm not sure if it's visibly showing, but as he stares me down, I can feel nervousness begin to bubble up within me. Is he gonna say something at some point, or are we just going to play thousand-yard stare all day?

"I've been looking over the papers that were submitted by all second-year students regarding plans for post-high school." He pulled a single sheet out and put it in front of me, "Is there any particular reason that yours is filled out so vaguely?" I chuckled nervously as I was reminded of the sheet I filled out last week, reading my...underwhelming responses…

 **Name: Midoriya Izuku**

 **Current Homeroom: 2-A**

 **GPA: 3. 78**

 **Post-Graduation Plans: University**

 **Career Path of Choice: Undecided**

 **University of Choice: Undecided**

 **Interests: None**

 **Long-Term Goals: Get a secure job with sufficient pay.**

 **Clubs/Extracurriculars: Band**

If Aizawa's face could possibly be any more deadpan, it would be right now. I don't entirely blame him, though. I knew how shitty I was being when I filled this form out, but come on. There was no way I was the only second-year who didn't have an idea about what I wanted to do after high school.

"Midoriya, you're the only second year who doesn't have an idea about what you want to do after high school."

Welp, great.

"Well, I don't know Sensei...I guess nothing really interests me all that much. I am just complacent with getting a good enough job to support myself and my mom she can retire. Other than that…" I trailed off, shrugging at him.

Aizawa sighed and scratched his stubbly chin, "Though I appreciate your intentions, as an educator it is my job to help my students find something to bring them passion or some sort of level of interest. Furthermore…" He gave me a hard glare and I instinctively gulped out of fear, "You should already be well aware that 'complacent' is not a word that we here at UA care to use. You have and plenty of potential, but you're wasting it by doing nothing with it. So, here's what is going to happen. In addition to being in the school band, you are going to find an additional club or activity to join for the rest of the year." I tried my best to suppress a groan as he pulled a manila folder out from a drawer in his desk. "Now, club day has long come and gone, and at the moment, there is a very small selection of available clubs to join. In fact, there are only 3 clubs that are still taking members." He opened the folder to a bookmarked page and flipped it around to show me 3 circled lines on a spreadsheet of all the clubs in the school.

"Let's see…" I almost had to squint at the page because the font was so damn small, "Machine Shop…" Never really cared about learning about mechanical work, but eh wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. "UA Gentleman's Club? What in the world is tha—" There is only one person that I know that would ever start a club with that kind of name.

"Ahem, yes that is Mineta's club. Believe me, if I had any say in it, that poor excuse for a club would not exist, but Kayama-Sensei is in charge of that, and you know how she is…." Both Aizawa-Sensei and I shuddered at the mention of the *ahem* eccentric staff member that was Kayama Nemuri, but we can be traumatized by that bridge when we get to it. Anyway, the 'UA Gentleman's Club' is absolutely out of the question. Not only do I, you know, have standards as a basic human being, but I have a strong feeling that I'd get castrated by Occhan and mom if they heard I joined something like that. Okay, so that's one less option, not too bad. Okay, the last one is…

"The basketball team." Aizawa swept a few of his long strands out of his eyes, "Tryouts begin at the end of next week, so you have until then to decide which of the two you want to join. Just to preface, if you were looking into any scholarships, all of the ones for members of the machine shop have already been filled, so an athletic scholarship would be your only option in that regard."

"Machine shop. I'll do that. There's a few music scholarships available so I think I'll be fine in that regard." I definitely do not feel like diving back into another basketball conversation so many times in a day. It's not even lunchtime yet for God's sake.

"Why such a sudden answer?" He raised an eyebrow in suspicion at me. "As I said, you have until the end of next week, so there is no need to be so hasty. Dismissed." I held my tongue and just took the exit. No use in causing more drama than there needed to be anyways. Leaving the room and heading to next period, I sighed tiredly and ran a hand through my hair. For some reason, I felt like things would get real troublesome real soon.

* * *

 **Glossary**

 _ **Inbound:**_ Also known as a "throw in", this is a throw from outside the playing area in an effort to pass to a teammate on the court. Inbound passes can occur for several reasons, such as the ball going out of bounds, after a basket is scored, or any other stoppage in play. The inbound passer has 5 seconds to release the ball otherwise they are assessed a violation and the opponent gets awarded possession.

 _ **Isolation:**_ This is a type of play that is called on offense where a player in possession of the ball instructs his teammates to spread out on the court as much as possible so that said player has enough room for himself. This play is called for players intending to take their individual defender head-on in an attempt to score a basket.

 _ **Post-up:**_ A player turns his back to the basket and pushes against his defender in order to establish a position closer to the basket and shield the ball from being stolen.

 _ **The elbow:**_ The elbow is the area of the court where the free throw line intersects with the lane lines of the key (coloured area under the basket) running parallel to the basket. Each half of the court has two elbows; A left elbow and a right elbow.

 _ **Fadeaway:**_ A type of jump-shot taken while jumping backwards and away from the net. The goal is to create space between the shooter and the defender, making the shot much harder to block.


End file.
